Tim Benz: Applaud Pirates tear down, but stay skeptical of ability to rebuild
Unfortunately, former Pirates players Jameson Taillon, Joe Musgrove and Josh Bell proved one sports cliche to be true: “Nice guys really do finish last.”
Because those recently traded Pirates were three of the nicest guys I’ve ever covered in a baseball clubhouse. Even on his way out the door after Sunday’s trade to the New York Yankees, Taillon was tweeting his fond farewells to Pittsburgh.
Bittersweet day for me over here! Trying to process everything- have SO much to say to the city of Pittsburgh and my teammates. Also have SO much to say about this incredible opportunity and to the city/fans in New York. Thanks to everyone that has reached out! More to come soon
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) January 24, 2021
As Musgrove had the week before when he was dealt to the San Diego Padres.
To Pittsburgh, with Love. pic.twitter.com/zlNmR3Gt09
— Joe Musgrove (@ItsbuccnJoe59) January 21, 2021
But, boy, did they ever finish last in 2020. A Major League-worst 19-41. They finished last in the National League Central at 69-93 in 2019, too.
Now Pirates general manager Ben Cherington is likely to prove another sports axiom to be accurate: “We finished last with you. We’ll finish last without you.”
That certainly seems to be the acknowledgement from Cherington. The Pirates may not say it out loud but finishing last again in 2021 is very much in the cards. Perhaps on purpose. If the Pirates accidentally win enough to finish out of the cellar, wonderful. But there’s zero evidence to suggest that going anything better than 1-161 in 2021 is at all a priority.
After all, Taillon, Musgrove and Bell have been traded for a total of roughly 70 or 80 combined prospects from the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals.
A few of those prospects — like Miguel Yajure from New York, David Bednar from San Diego and Wil Crowe from Washington (via the Bell trade) — have scratched into the Major Leagues and may be a part of the Pirates by Opening Day.
However, many of the other prospects are likely years away from their Major League debuts.
“We’ve got to be willing to make decisions like this,” Cherington said after the Taillon deal. “To add the kind of talent that we need to get this where we want it.”
Many in the Pirates Twittersphere are praising Cherington for his efforts, applauding his commitment to fully tearing down this latest iteration of a Pirates rebuild. Lauding Cherington’s attempt to enhance the farm system with youthful talent.
Yeah. Sure. Cherington is to be commended for at least committing to a plan, as opposed to being half-in to reconstruction, while dotting the Major League roster with just enough Big League baseball cards to put up a front that they are trying to compete.
Where I remain skeptical — and always will — is that I’m dubious of what happens when this wave of prospects reaches their late 20s like Taillon, Musgrove and Bell. Are they just going to get churned and burned for another batch of 19-year-olds?
Absolutely they will. That’s what history has taught us about how the Pirates operate and about how life works in a small-market MLB city.
So, essentially, the “plan” is that enough of these prospects arrive in Pittsburgh before Mitch Keller, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds “have” to be traded, as well.
Which, based on the most recent precedent, is about four to five years apiece. Because, as we are seeing with the departure of Musgrove, the components acquired for Gerrit Cole are already being spun to other teams trying to win now. And the others who came to Pittsburgh for the future Cy Young Award winner (Michael Feliz, Jason Martin, Colin Moran) may never develop into anything more than the marginal players they’ve been for the Pirates.
If those remaining stay here much longer themselves.
And maybe even in Cherington’s best-case scenario for himself, what we’ve outlined above actually comes to fruition. Then he can bounce and wind up in a bigger market where he genuinely has a chance of sustaining a successful roster.
Or blowing one up and rebuilding it quicker with a bigger budget.
Meanwhile, payroll stays low and profit margins remain in an acceptable range for owner Bob Nutting.
That’s what really counts.
So, while many of us are slobbering all over Cherington because our expectations are so low, just understand that our expectations are no lower than that of the organization itself.
This is the space where this franchise lives. This is its wheelhouse. “Winning offseasons” for the Pirates are judged by the amount and the ranking of prospects three and four years down the road.
Not based on how offseason work translates into how the team performs in the ensuing campaign.
As you can imagine, Cherington is advancing a different message.
“We want to be trusted to make decisions, lead and build a great team here,” Cherington insisted. “We do care. We have to weigh that external input with what we feel is best for the Pirates in the long run.”
OK. Well, I’m ready for a marathon.
But this feels more like we are going to endure that scene from Forrest Gump. And the run isn’t going to end for a long, long time.
Much like Forrest, I think a lot of fans are saying, “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now.”
I know that is what I’m saying.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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